Jin, SongqingDeininger, Klaus2012-03-302012-03-302009Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization01672681https://hdl.handle.net/10986/5621Motivated by the emphasis on secure property rights as a determinant of economic development in recent literature, we use village- and household-level information from about 800 villages throughout China to explore whether legal reform increased protection of land rights against unauthorized reallocation or expropriation with below-average compensation by the state. In addition to providing nation-wide evidence on a sensitive topic, we find positive impacts, equivalent increasing land values by 30 percent, of reform even in the short term that originated in villages where democratic election of leaders ensured a minimum level of accountability, pointing towards complementarity between good governance and legal reform. Implications for situations where individuals and groups hold overlapping rights to land are explored.ENProperty Law K110Formal and Informal SectorsShadow EconomyInstitutional Arrangements O170Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural AnalysesTransportation O180Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics P250Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Political EconomyProperty Rights P260Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Performance and Prospects P270Journal ArticleWorld Bank